Marines kill five in land dispute

Wahyoe Boediwardhana and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Pasuruan, Surabaya

A protest over a disputed plot of land in Pasuruan regency, East Java, turned deadly Wednesday after marines shot and killed five people.

The Navy defended the shooting, saying soldiers followed standard procedures for dealing with a violent protest.

Human rights groups have condemned the incident, calling for a thorough investigation by the police and the National Commission on Human Rights.

"My soldiers did not want to become victims like in Papua. They just wanted to scare the protesters and make them stop," the marine commander at the Navy's Eastern Fleet in Surabaya, Maj. Gen. Safzen Nurdin, told a press conference.

He was referring to an anti-Freeport protest in Papua that ended with protesters killing several security officials.

Safzen said his soldiers fired warning shots before being "forced" to open fire on protesters.

"On behalf of the Navy, we express our deepest apologies over the incident," he said, promising to investigate the shooting.

The incident occurred in Telogo hamlet, Alas Telogo village, in Grati subdistrict, Lekok district.

It was triggered by a protest involving some 300 villagers angry over the construction of a Navy office on about 3,600 hectares of disputed land.

The dispute between residents and the Navy dates back several years, when residents from the subdistrict's 14 villages formally rejected plans by the Navy to turn the land into a location for military training.

Villagers took the case to court but lost. The case is currently in the appeal process.

Wednesday's protest began peacefully but turned violent when protesters began pelting stones at construction workers.

Navy personnel intervened, attempting to disperse the residents.

As residents continued throwing stones, according to the Navy, marines fired warning shots in an attempt to disperse the protesters.

When that failed, they opened fire on the crowd.

Five residents died at the scene. Among the dead was a woman who was four months pregnant, identified as Dewi Khodijah, and a 27-year-old woman, Mistin, and her 3-year-old son, Khoirul.

At least seven others were injured in the shooting. The dead and the injured were taken to Syaiful Anwar Hospital in nearby Malang city.

Following the shooting residents blocked Pasuruan highway, which connects Surabaya-Banyuwangi-Bali, with trees and burning tires.

The blockade caused massive traffic jams before the road was cleared at around 8 p.m.

A witness, Ruba'i, said residents were angry after workers from the Navy's cooperative unit began building an office on the disputed land, which villagers had planted with vegetable gardens.

"The residents at first didn't dare protest, but then the situation heated up and (Navy personnel) opened fire, causing people to start picking up stones and throwing them. But then they (the marines) attacked the residents and chased them into their homes," he told journalists.

He said Dewi Khodijah was standing behind her house when she was shot in the head, and that Mistin, carrying her son Khoirul, was attempting to flee the clash when she was shot in the chest.

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence condemned the shooting.

It urged the case be tried in criminal court, saying a military court might cover up the shooting and protect the marines.

"The military should respect the ongoing legal process of the land dispute and wait until a final verdict comes out. This incident is evidence of the military's old paradigm, which views the people as enemies," commission director Usman Hamid said.

-- Tony Hotland contributed to this story from Jakarta.